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News & releases in mini AI PCs

Headlines and short excerpts from leading hardware publications, refreshed daily - every story links straight to the original article on the publisher's site.

www.tomshardware.com

New HBF spec outlines tech that can give GPUs terabytes of extra memory — Sandisk and SK hynix unveil spec with up to 16-Hi NAND stacks, 3 TB/s bandwidth, UCIe

Sandisk and SK hynix formally introduce HBF specification that promises up to 3 TB/s of bandwidth eventually, though only four companies are currently interested in the technology.

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PC cooling outfit Arctic reverses tariff-era price hikes after US government refund — lowers prices across lineup, including coolers and case fans

The company says it is honoring its earlier promise to reverse tariff-driven price increases, becoming one of the first PC hardware vendors to publicly roll back pricing after a major court ruling.

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Chinese chipmaking tool roadmaps examined — Beijing's nascent lithography tools target DUV production at five machines a year, and an EUV prototype with no chips

Ultimately, three markers will indicate whether China’s domestic DUV program is a legitimate rival or yet more state-sanctioned hot air.

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At least 37 people arrested in 2026 so far for protesting against data centers, most for breaking 'petty rules' — most taken into custody acted peacefully

Data center protesters are getting arrested for minor infractions, yet they continue pushing back against these projects. Aside from the arrests, there's also at least 12 instances (probably more) where the police were c…

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Lenovo LOQ Essentials 15 Gen 11 Review: A good display meets a low-power RTX 5060

The Lenovo LOQ Essentials 15 Gen 11 pairs an RTX 5060, 144 Hz display, and excellent upgradeability with a comfortable keyboard, but its low-power GPU configuration and outdated CPU leave it struggling against rivals at…

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‘Apple is getting this wrong,’ says OpenAI — startup blasts iPhone maker over lawsuit alleging it stole confidential information through ex-Apple employees

OpenAI denies Apple's allegations in a blog post. The company claims that it doesn't have and even doesn't want its rivals trade secrets.

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Chinese ship spotted lurking over Taiwan-US undersea cables — 'research vessel' seen loitering above the 8,000-mile Pacific Light Cable Network fiber-optic system

A new video shows Taiwan’s Coast Guard warning a 200-ft long Chinese-flagged research vessel, spotted loitering over a fiber internet cable, to change course.

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Grab a new Secretlab sit-to-stand desk for $699 — Save $50 as the Magnus Evo receives its first-ever discount

Secretlab has finally reduced the price of the Magnus Evo standing desk. In its first-ever discount, you can save $50 on a new sit-to-stand desk.

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16GB GPUs and 8-core CPUs officially become the most popular configs on Steam — Latest hardware survey shows modern gaming's growing hunger for more resources

For the first time in Steam history, 8-core CPUs have overtaken 6-core CPUs and GPUs with 16GB of VRAM have overtaken 8GB GPUs. Even though the hardware survey doesn't represent everyone, it still indicates a paradigm sh…

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Three major PC makers now using Chinese memory to fight 'unprecedented memory shortage,' report claims — HP, Asus, and Acer using 'small amounts' of CXMT chips in limited number of notebooks for non-US market

A new report claims that HP, Asus, and Acer have started to use a small amount of CXMT memory chips in notebooks for non-US markets.

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China cracks down on copycat chip designs with new regulations and penalties — new guidelines enforce originality and independent development

China tightens legal protections for domestically developed chip layout designs by raising originality requirements and strengthening infringement penalties.

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This 144-piece toolkit is a must-buy for hobbyists and PC builders for under $40 — pocket a 20% saving on this screwdriver set with two drivers, 120 magnetic bits, and 22 repair tools for your projects

Pick up this 144-in-1 repair toolkit from Strebito, with 120 bits and a number of other tools, for less than $40 right now, saving you 20%.

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www.servethehome.com

AMD Helios Architecture Deep Dive: The Power of AMD’s Hardware Combined

The Helios rackscale system is the culmination of AMD's server hardware, as well as their AI datacenter ambitions. For Advancing AI 2026, the company dove into the architecture of their first rackscale systems, outlining…

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New Micron lawsuit reignites fight over New York fab — complaint alleges 'forever chemicals' will flow into Oneida River

Micron's New York manufacturing facility is back in the crosshairs of another environmental lawsuit, claiming its wastewater and air permits should be nullified.

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In a troubling sign, Nvidia RTX 50 series prices jump up to 30% in South Korea — TSMC wafer hikes and $20 GDDR7 modules push RTX 5090 past $5,100

The latest round of price increases affects the entire RTX 50 lineup, with premium models bearing the brunt of rising production costs.

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AI companies are now racing to the bottom — crashing token prices and competitive models push companies to cut costs

All major AI developers are cutting prices to compete with impressive new releases from China. But as they shave margins to remain competitive, the profits they'll need to fulfil investment confidence may end up further…

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liliputing.com

Chuwi MinBook X U300 is a mini-laptop with a 10.5 inch screen and Intel Raptor Lake processor

The Chuwi MiniBook X is a compact convertible laptop with a 10.51 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel IPS LCD touchscreen display and a 360 degree hinge that lets you fold the computer for use in notebook, tablet, tent, or stand mod…

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Lexar lists 32GB DDR5 memory with homegrown Chinese chips — 3,999 Yuan ($592) price undercuts hopes for cheaper CXMT-powered RAM

Lexar's latest Thor RGB kit likely uses CXMT-made DRAM, but its pricing remains comparable to premium DDR5 memory from established brands.

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Microsoft raises European Xbox prices by up to £200 — RAMpocalypse and component shortages force major console markups

Xbox price increases across the UK and Europe have been revealed, with prices upped by as much as £170 or €200.

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Asus ProArt PA32UCDMR 32-inch 4K professional OLED monitor review: Precision, speed, and flexibility

Asus delivers professional precision and premium gaming performance with the ProArt PA32UCDMR. It also comes with a slick calibrator and controller combination, and sports an all-metal chassis with elegant style.

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Gaming on the 4GB Radeon RX 6500 XT and GTX 1650 Super in 2026 — upscaling makes low-end GPUs viable for esports and internet cafes

Practically every graphics card introduced since 2022 has had at least 6GB or 8GB of VRAM, but AMD is bucking that trend in 2026 with the new RX 9050 4GB. We dusted off two older 4GB cards to see if that little VRAM mean…

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AI enthusiast unlocks and mods BIOS with Claude Code — AI defeats RSA-2048 signature checks and unlocks 55 hidden settings

A Redditor recently unlocked their HP laptop BIOS using Claude Code.

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Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) foundry roadmaps — breaking down TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and GlobalFoundries' approach to next-generation scale-up connectivity

As AI systems outgrow copper interconnects, TSMC, Intel, Samsung Foundry, and GlobalFoundries are pursuing four distinctly different co-packaged optics strategies to bring optical connectivity closer to compute.

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GPU prices keep surging in 2026 — Lack of sale discounts and rising VRAM costs keep current-gen prices sky-high

AI, tariffs, and greed have put pressure on PC builders wanting a new GPU. Can you still get a cheap GPU?

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